Life and times of an amateur athlete and my adventures as a weekend warrior - including my successful completion of Ironman Canada Subaru 2009

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Heart Rate Training = losing the ego and being selfish

Hi all -

Lets just skip me going on about my sad excuses for not posting more often - life just gets busy especially when you are training for CHALLENGE ROTH.

For all of you that were in a coma - yes I got in - Santa came through. Well actually high-speed internet, being able to type quickly and coffee at 3am in the morning came through with the final result being I am in.

I was super excited and happy and then JOE said to me innocently - "what was your last time for Challenge in Pentiction?"

Me - 16 hours and change.

Him - hmmm - you know the cut-off is 15hours.

Me - wave of anxiety and nausea - "NO - it is always 17 hours"

Him - you should check the website - pretty sure it is 15 hours

Me - why are you messing with me it is 17 hours - I go to the website - CRAP it is 15 hours

Him - you would think you would have checked that BEFORE registering.

ME - when do I EVER check ahead. You should have warned me!

Him - would it have changed.

Me - NO

Him - Calm down - you can do this.

Me - anxiety attack, anxiety attack,

Then it was time to come up with a plan. 1st thing - get my heart rate testing done. So I did and then I met with Mike from Peak Centre for Excellence to go over my results. Basically - I have no speed - I have a zone 1 and then my Zone 2, 3 and 4 are very tight and then a Zone 5.

I explained that I did not have $ for a customized plan so he gave me the basics - For the run - Train in Zone 1 as much as possible and then work in Zone 5 once a week to get that higher and open up my other zones.
For the ride - train in Zone 1, but get a solid Zone 3 work out - 30 min or so, once a week and add a couple of ZOne 5 intervals. Put my arrow bars on and ride in them as much as possible. Add some weights, continue with core and track workouts.

We talked about retesting in April and then him doing the plans for me for April, May and June leading up to the race. We also chatted about my chronic leg issues and he felt that a Speed clinic would do more harm then good.

Okay - so I took that went home and looked through the 10 or so training books we have and decided on one plan I like that seems reasonable and reminds me of what Coach Barb had me do. It is pretty detailed gives times, zones to train in and different types of work outs with different intensities. I think it will work, I hope it will work. It has to work. If you don't know me I am very pragmatic in everything I do - I like plans - I need plans. It keeps me focused and on track. Since I can't afford a fulltime coach this will have to do. The last one I did - I did not have a coach but I did have my old plan from my coach that I tweaked and I did get a PB, stayed uninjured and did not get sick afterwards. So we know I can do the distance I just need to do it faster and that is why I worry.

Now I get heart rate training and I have been tested before but to be honest I was like sure I get it - did I really follow it - not really. BUT I need to take minimum 1 hour off my time, so I have decided to actually do what the books and Mike have told me to do. First thing I discovered - I run too slow usually. I have had to pick up my tempo for my runs to get to Zone 1 - so basically I have been lazy - reasons? Running with my peeps I want to chat with them and so we all run the same pace. This has become habit - not good. So I have come to the realization that I will have to run on my own so I do stay in my Zone 1. Where the selfish is that I can't do the 10 and 1's my heart rate drops too low during the walks and I can't slow my tempo down so that I am not in front of the group. I know from experience when I run at the tempo I need to run to do Zone 1 I get in trouble with the group because I am pulling them. So runs are now solo again. Good news I don't get tired running the higher tempo.

Riding is where I need to lose the ego. To keep my self in Zone 1 I have had to sloowww down. Humble pie is when you are passed by a lady wearing heels, with red tights in a faux long fur jacket and a dog in the basket of her bike and staying in Zone 1. Oi that was hard - I could see her swivel and look at me like ha - and it took EVERYTHING not to start pedaling harder to catch her and school her. But I did it. It is also a wake up call as to how often I have been in the wrong zone not getting the true benefits of training. I have to keep telling myself - lose the ego and just chill - this is a process.

I am happy to say that last week on the first ride outside on Isis (my road bike) and not on Neila - my beast of a commuter bike. I felt really good and was happy that I was getting great speed in Zone 1. The hills - I have been riding them too hard - so that was another wake-up call but after 2 hours of riding I felt great, felt I could go longer. Legs felt great and I was not exhausted - just very cold -lol

So while I may be lonely and have to tamp down my ego - I am going to keep my eye on the prize. The goal 14 1/2 hours finish time. Forget 15 hour - why just squeak in?

About Me

I am an IRONMAN. I set this blog up to share a little about my journey to Ironman but mostly to introduce you to some truly fabulous women I run and train with and possibly inspire a few of you to get off the couch and do something. My friends and I come from all spectrum's of life and all age groups some of us are faster than others, some of us are beginners, some are in their 20's, some in their 50's, some only run 10km, some do Ultra's (50km and over) but the one thing we all have in common is that we like an adventure, a challenge, to push the envelope, and to have a whole lot of fun while we do it. Oh and we never, EVER unless it is physically impossible quit! It is not about the time or where we placed it is about finishing what we started, supporting each other and inspiring each other to be all we can be, looking at task and saying How Bad can it Be? and then learning that it was pretty bad but we survived and then finding the next event or adventure and doing it all over again. Hope you enjoy the read. Peace out